Bridget McNulty

The Zen of packing:

// May 22nd, 2009 // 3 Comments » // Decisions, Time, travelling

I studied in the States, so I’ve done this whole long-voyage-across-the-seas about six times… And every single time I would pack at the last minute, totally stressed and strung-out, and go to bed either with things strewn about my room, or with a suitcase so full there was no hope it was ever going to close.

This time, however, I’m packing in style.

Mainly because I have what is without a doubt THE most beautiful suitcase I’ve ever seen. Seriously, I was never excited about a suitcase before I saw this one… Take a look:

It’s a chocolate brown Samsonite. With all kinds of cool little bags to put things in. I think I’m in love! It has four wheels (instead of two) so it slides along so smoothly (I was dancing with it yesterday!), it’s virtually indestructible (I’ll be testing that out!) and it is just so lovely to look at… Really.

Still, I had a mound of things to pack into it. Gifts for seven people I’m staying with, book gifts of Strange Nervous Laughter, and 3 weeks worth of clothing… Not to mention the diabetes supplies, toiletries, accessories and mini juices! (in case my blood sugar goes low). I’m not kidding when I say there was a mound of stuff to pack:

And all into one little (lovely) suitcase!
Never fear… I had a secret weapon. They’re called Vac Bags and I’d never heard of them till yesterday, but they totally saved my life. Basically, they squeeze all the air out of your clothing, so that it ends up taking up the minimum amount of space possible. Genius!

So all of that, turned into:

This! Hardly anything.

Which meant that instead of sitting on my suitcase, sweating, trying to fit everything in and feeling my heart rate shoot through the roof, I could simply place my bags of clothes into my suitcase, and calmly go about my business. Best of all, this means I’m not going to have to repack my suitcase every time I need to get something out (my naturally messy nature usually means that if I try to get one dress out of a suitcase, the whole suitcase ends up on the floor). Nope, now I shall be calm and tidy, and simply undo the bag I need, while leaving the rest tidy. Fabulous!

Now, you might be wondering why I care so much about how easy or difficult packing a suitcase is, but it feels like it’s indicative of the whole trip. I used to get really stressed and dramatic about leaving home for the States (I was too young, it was fraught with emotion) and this is the first time I’m going happily and excitedly. I’m older, hopefully wiser, and a lot more calm and centered, and being able to pack with such ease bodes extremely well for three weeks of happiness in the USA!

I’ll still be blogging as much as possible, although not every day, so check back often to see how the trip is going!

A weekend of sloth.

// May 18th, 2009 // No Comments » // Life (and the living of it), Time

After the extreme busy-ness of last week, with the blog tour and all the advance planning for my US trip, I was really ready for a relaxing weekend this weekend…. And hoo boy did I get it!

My man and I met friends for drinks on Friday night, and then came home and watched Seinfeld (oh how I love Seinfeld!)

On Saturday morning we woke up to pouring rain… and so decided not to get out of bed. We stayed in bed till 1pm, reading, sleeping, chatting, eating breakfast and drinking tea. And then we got up for a book launch (of Aenigmata, check it out here) and a great opening night for the Labia Celebration Exchange (their website is here). Sunday morning was chilly again (although not raining), so we decided to stay in bed all morning again! It was heavenly. It’s amazing how much your body can sleep if you just let it. We spent the rest of the day baking a cake, going for a walk and watching movies on TV.

And when I woke up this morning I felt fantastic! So full of energy, clean and clear and inspired and ready to start the week. Just lovely! How often does that happen? Usually weekends are so full of having fun that by the time Monday rolls around my head is full. But today, thanks to a whole weekend of sloth, I feel rested, relaxed and revitalised (rrrreally!)

When was the last time you gave yourself the gift of a weekend of sloth?

The art of the everyday.

// January 12th, 2009 // No Comments » // Decisions, Inspiration, Life (and the living of it)

So I’m back! After the most wonder-full, relaxing, nourishing and delicious holiday. How was yours?

I have so much to write about – spending the holidays with my entire family, travelling all over the country with my man, the incredible book I’m reading at the moment, the many realisations that hit me over the last three weeks… But perhaps, seeing as today is my (and many other people’s) first day back at work, I should write about something a little more pertinent: The art of the everyday.

Because it’s easy to be calm and spiritual and happy when you’re on holiday, isn’t it? You can sleep as much as you like, you can read for hours (if you so wish, which I always do!), you can pretty much do what you want. I have to say, this has been one of my most peace-full holidays ever. I’ve been focusing a lot on staying present, on being here while I do this, and then moving on to the next thing and being fully present for that too. Amazingly, it’s actually much easier than trying to do ten things at once, while having imaginary future conversations in your head that relate to the eleventh thing. My head feels clearer, I have more energy and I feel, essentially, lighter in spirit.

As I said, easy to do when you’re on holiday.

But when I approached my computer this morning – full of 3 weeks of unreplied-to-emails, requests from people, things to think about, and work to do – my mind started up its chatter all over again. All of a sudden the urge to open five tabs at once and flip between them while the pages load became irresistible. I started thinking in fast forward again. The imaginary conversations with people I have to call later came flooding back in.

And what do you know, I immediately started feeling tired. Drained, sore eyes, tired, despite it only being mid-morning. Isn’t it amazing how our bodies communicate with us?

So I stopped. I sat on my verandah for a while watching a couple of butterflies flitting in and out of the flowers. I did some yoga stretches. I remembered to breathe. And slowly the noise in my head quieted down and my energy returned.

So what am I on about? Finding the balance in every day, the moments that make our days sing for us, the art of the everyday. Because life is like our own special work of art, and what kind of artists would we be if we only knew how to paint on weekends and holidays?

So what was 2008 all about for you?

// December 17th, 2008 // 2 Comments » // Decisions, Diabetes, Laughter, Life (and the living of it), Philosophy

For me, it’s been about living the life of my dreams.

My first year as a freelance writer, and overall I’d say it’s been a big success. I’m living in an amazing flat with the man I love. I’m doing work I enjoy, and being well-paid for it. My novel is being published in the USA next year. I’ve written a rough draft of a new novel.

And I’ve been searching for, and in many ways attaining, balance.
Between work and play.
Socialising and alone time.
Work for me and work for money.
Exercise and rest.
Food and insulin!

Health was obviously one of my top priorities this year, and now that my first full year as a diabetic is coming to an end, I have to say it’s gone pretty damn well. I feel vital and alive, and full of energy (most of the time). And although having an immunological disorder (sounds hectic, hey?) means that I get sick more often than I used to, overall I think it’s been a glowingly healthy year.

Personally, too, it’s been a great year, and I attribute a lot of that to the practical philosophy courses I’ve taken, and the wisdom they’ve imparted (check under the Philosophy tags to read all about it!) I feel far more centered and balanced than in previous years – like I have tools to help me deal with life in a much calmer way.

Most of all, though, this has been a playful year – full of laughter and fun and dancing and good times…

How has your year been?

Input / Output

// September 9th, 2008 // 1 Comment » // Inspiration, Life (and the living of it), Time

I speak about this a lot in ‘real life’ (i.e. verbally) but I think it’s such an important pattern to recognise, so maybe it’s time to speak about it in blog life…

I really do believe that we go through periods of input, and periods of output. During the input periods we’re quieter, we read more, watch lots of movies and TV, listen to people deeper and generally absorb all there is to be absorbed in our lives. During the output periods we talk more, offer advice, create (in whatever way works for us – cooking, art, writing, dancing, drawing) and have enough energy to give it away, in abundance.

The problem comes, I think, when we don’t recognise the difference between the two. When we become givers (outputters) 24/7 and don’t ever stop to recharge, to input, to fill up again. And then we become resentful because other people aren’t giving us what we need, when really we have to give it to ourselves.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately, because I see it happening so much, not only in my own life, but in the lives of my friends. Of course, it can go the other way, too – getting stuck in an input phase and unable to get up and DO anything because the inputting becomes addictive.

It’s that good old balance thing again, isn’t it? I’m beginning to think that much of life might be about finding that mystical balance…